In 1946 East Kent ordered 50 Leyland PS1 coaches fitted with C32R bodies. These were delivered between September 1946 and March 1948. The license numbers were CFN60 to CFN109. CFN 61 (Leyland PS1 Chassis Number 461112, Body Number B32504) was delivered in October 1946 and remained in service until 1959. It was sold for further service at Llanwern, in South Wales, and finally scrapped in 1964.
East Kent used Park Royal bodies for most of its Leyland and Dennis coaches and single deckers delivered until the early 50s, and almost all of its double deckers delivered from 1930 to 1970. Park Royal continued to feature in coach deliveries in the 1950s and 1960s alongside Beadle, Duple and Plaxton (information kindly supplied by Mike Harvey).
JR 6600 - Hunter, Seaton Delaval 11, a Leyland Tiger (TS7) chassis with a Burlingham coach body dating from 1937. It was re-bodied by Roe in 1954 with a B39C body and renumbered 21.
Chris Ransted kindly sent in this image of a WW2 1000kg bomb clearly protruding the rear offside wheel arch of an East Kent vehicle (now known to be a Leyland Tiger - see below), apparently taken by an unknown (but brave) photographer in Norwich. This is quite possible given that buses travelled widely during WW2 for a variety of reasons. (Let alone the photographer, there is also a rather brave fellow standing next to the device. I admit to retouching the left side of the image that was heavily crumpled, creased and partly missing. Ed.) [see also the East Kent & Wartime pages]
Can anyone identify the vehicle? Could it be PRC/PRV or some other coachbuilder? The only clue appears to be the ash trays set into the back of the seating that leads me to believe it more likely a coach than a bus!
Here
is the answer kindly sent in by Garth Wyver, Garth writes:
You have probably had someone identify the East Kent vehicle with the bomb protruding by
now (it's June 2017 & no, I haven't Ed.). However here is my view. I
think it was a Leyland TS 7 delivered in 1935 (Reg. JG5431) with Park Royal C32R
body. After damage in an air raid it was rebuilt by Park Royal with a full length roof pannier for carrying band instruments. This coach carried the
East Kent dark red livery with a narrow cream band, at the time it was damaged.
I gleaned this information from Dick Gilbert's excellent Classic Buses Classic Buses website
I would like to thank you for your excellent web site.
(Thanks Garth for your kind thoughts about my site and your well found input
- here is the East
Kent page on Dick Gilbert's splendid site - as you say it's all there. Ed.)